


There Is Iron In Her Soul On Those Days

by HunterByDayWhovianByNight



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Coming of Age, Dad Hopper, F/M, First Period, Puberty, Self-Discovery, This was an excuse to write Dad Hopper, sexual awakening
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-13
Updated: 2017-11-13
Packaged: 2019-02-01 18:02:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12710094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HunterByDayWhovianByNight/pseuds/HunterByDayWhovianByNight
Summary: “Becoming hurts.” - Kat HowardA series of transitions, not all of them as smooth as Eleven (and Hopper) would like them to be.





	There Is Iron In Her Soul On Those Days

**Author's Note:**

> Hello yes I just finished season two of Stranger Things and I crave all of the death but have this story instead where Hopper is a Good Dad. Title is a quote by Jeanette Winterson from "Written On the Body".
> 
> ~Hunter

Eleven notices her body changing after she gets rescued by Hopper. Where she was frail and famished before, she is fuller and more lively. She had been starving in the forest, barely scrounging together enough food to stay alive, and the exposure and stress only made the weight loss worse. With Hopper, Eleven is finally able to eat on a reliable schedule and not have to worry about where she will find her next meal. She doesn't have to physically kill any more little animals and is able to just _be._

Hopper presents Eleven with some clothes similar to the ones the boys wore. She figures they were a boy's clothes, but she's glad to finally be warm again. As she eats more, the clothes fit better. She's still thin, but she's not bony. She doesn't see her ribs anymore and her cheeks aren't hollow. The clothes don't hang off her slight frame like they did when she first received them; some of the clothes are even a little too tight. She feels healthy. Hopper notes (in a positive, approving manner) that she had put on weight and says it's a sign that she's returning to normal. She welcomes this change with a smile and a tousle of her hair by Hopper as they look down at the scale.

~~~~~

Eleven’s hair begins to grow from its plain, close-cropped buzz to a literal mop of hair on the top of her head. The hair is curly and soft and dark, similar to Dustin’s. If she shook her head around, the curls bounced and got in her eyes. Hopper absent-mindedly runs his fingers through it while they watch TV, a soothing and fatherly gesture. Eleven lives for those nights when she curls up to Hopper and his hand finds its way into her hair as they watch TV. Hopper takes notice of her growing hair, too, and admits that the new look is fitting on her. Eleven blushes at the compliment and smiles, saying, “pretty” like Mike taught her. It makes Hopper smile, too.

Slightly surprising, though, is when Eleven lifts her arms and sees a few, straggling hairs underneath them. She touches them with a raised eyebrow, unsure of their function. She's seen Hopper without a shirt on; he has hair under his arms as well. She doesn't think much of it, but some time after, she sees soft, almost downy, hairs in the place between her legs. She doesn't tell Hopper about this change and wonders if he can tell it's there just by looking at her. Eleven welcomes the soft, bouncy curls on her head, but doesn't know how to feel about the changes elsewhere.

~~~~~

Eleven feels two distinct parts of her chest hurting one night as she lays in bed. She gingerly touches the slightly raised areas on her chest, feeling the swollen bumps. She feels a dull pain in the fleshy mounds when she applies pressure with her fingertips and it makes her grimace. She sucks her teeth when shes uses the pressure from her palm over the area. She goes to sleep, thinking nothing of it, but the next morning it hurts even more. Over the next two weeks, she notices the raised areas begin to fill out and swell against her chest. They're tender and it hurts to lean or sleep on them, and she finds that if she runs or walks too fast, they hurt even more. She tries to hold them as she moves about the house so they don't jostle and hurt more, but the added touch makes them ache.

Eleven sits away from Hopper on the couch as they watch TV, and he notices after a few days. He asks what's wrong, why she doesn't want to sit with him anymore, and she tells Hopper she hurts whenever she leans against any surface while gently applying pressure to her chest. Hopper nods in understanding, despite there being a surprised look in his eyes. He takes her hands in his and they sit so that they're facing each other. He tells her that what hurts are called breasts, that they hurt because they're growing. She repeats the word, _breasts,_ turns it over in her mind, nods in understanding. Hopper says that her body's going through changes because she's finally living a stable, relatively stress-free life and her body is doing exactly what it should be. He knows what's coming next for her, but he doesn't want to overload her. Instead, he tells her not to worry, and offers a hug. Eleven accepts the warm hug and welcomes the change.

~~~~~

Eleven gets an overwhelming wave of deep longing and desire as she sits on the couch, waiting for Hopper to come home one evening. She was thinking about the way Mike kissed her in the cafeteria when it happened, and how it sent a chill down her spine. She thinks about holding his hand in hers and how it would make her feel safe and secure. She bites her lip and shuts her eyes, trying to remember his awkward lips, the way he looked at her after. She cherished it. There's an uncomfortable warmth and contraction between her legs, and she shivers again, her arms and legs erupting with gooseflesh. There's a slight wetness there now, too. Tentatively, she presses her fingers over some sensitive spot under her jeans, and the friction feels like heaven. With Mike still in her mind’s eye, she gasps and squeezes her eyes shut, and does it again. She repeats the action a few more times before feeling the contracted muscles inside of her release and then the sensation of soaring. Her blood pumps through her veins and she feels _good._ She's never felt like this before, except for maybe when Mike kissed her.

When she's alone, Eleven thinks of Mike and squeezes her thighs together so that she can feel that same friction and release of that first time. She doesn't ask Hopper what it's about, doesn't even think to, and keeps to herself about it. She looks forward to doing it every day when Hopper leaves, or when she's about to go to bed. It's a simple pleasure that she looks forward to. When she hears Mike’s voice, now a bit deeper than it was before, it sends that same little experience of soaring throughout her veins and sends a chill down her spine. Hopper notices that Eleven has become more infatuated and desiring of Mike, but doesn't point it out. He doesn't want to make her sad or open old wounds. Young love was always the worst. Eleven likes this change, this awakening in her soul, and she welcomes it more graciously than the other changes.

~~~~~

Eleven wakes up one morning feeling slick between her legs. She shifts around, sticky, and sits up in bed. She pulls back the covers and sees blood on the bed, on her sweats. She hyperventilates, feeling the anxiety and fear rise in her chest, and she screams for Hopper. There's some quick shuffling and bumps behind her door before the door is swung open to reveal a very bewildered, very tired Hopper. Hopper asks what's wrong; Eleven replies that she's bleeding and doesn't know why. Hopper approaches her and looks at her in confusion- her nose isn't bleeding, so what else could it be? Then he looks down and sees the blood on the sheet and his eyes widen. He knows what's happened to her, and he knew it would eventually come.

Eleven pleads with him for help, _please,_ and he scoops her up into his arms and dries her tears. She clings onto him as he brings her to the bathroom and starts the water for the bathtub. He sets her down and looks her in the eye. They're both silent, and Hopper feels more afraid than Eleven right now. He tells her not to worry, to get in the bathtub and clean up before he can have a talk with her. Eleven nods and Hopper leaves the bathroom, stomach in his throat and mind reeling; he never expected he would have to tell her about this moment, about her period. He considers calling Joyce so that a woman can explain it Eleven, but he doesn't want to compromise their safety. Hopper pinches the bridge of his nose, resigning himself to the fact that he will be the one to tell her. He calls out that he'll be back soon, and rushes off to the store to find her some pads, anything. He ends up asking Joyce for help in choosing something, telling her to not ask why and that she’ll find out why in time. She raises her eyebrows in suspicion, but helps him anyways. When Joyce asks if he wants tampons too, Hopper sees his life flash before his eyes and almost passes out in the middle of the store. He pays for what Joyce suggested, alarmed at the price, and heads back to the cabin.

Behind the bathroom door, Eleven cries silent tears with her knees pulled to her chest in the bathtub. She doesn't know what's happening, and this change was so unexpected and jarring. She watches the water drip slowly from the faucet, unfazed, until she hears a knock on the door from Hopper. She says come in, and Hopper does, with a change of clothes and a (red) towel in one hand and two boxes precariously balanced in the other. He leaves them for her on the sink, telling her to follow the instructions on the box, and ducks out quickly. Eleven retreats from the warmth of the bath and changes into the new clothes. She looks at the box, reads its side; it's meant to soak up the blood. She sits on the edge of the bathtub and pulls down her jeans; she looks at the pad in confusion before opening it up and peeling off the sticky part and placing it in her underwear like the box instructed. She pulls her jeans back up and exits the bathroom, feeling the pad shift around strangely in her jeans.

Hopper is waiting for her on the couch, hands folded and eyes wide with overwhelm. Eleven sits next to him on the couch and pulls her legs up beneath her. Hopper takes Eleven’s hands like he did that night he had to tell her about her breasts growing, and this time, he can't find words. They sit there awkwardly for a moment before Eleven asks what happened. Hopper lets out a deep breath and squeezes her hands before blurting out that what's happened to her is called a period. Eleven looks justifiably confused, and Hopper feels his face get bright red. He's never felt more embarrassed, and he thought the first talk they had a month ago was bad. He says that her body is preparing to have a child, but since she is not pregnant, then the blood just washes away, once a month. With a cringe at the end of his sentence, Hopper says that she's not a girl anymore, she's a woman. It's cliché, and Hopper hates it, but it just comes out. Eleven looks like she understands, but Hopper knows she may still be confused. He explains that it's natural, that it happens to all women and girls, that it's not something to fear or worry about. He tells her she may feel more emotional, she may cramp or get headaches, she may have a spike in her powers because her mood will be more extreme. Eleven digests the information, nodding slowly. Hopper asks if she has a question, but all she does is shake her head no. She asks for a hug, which Hopper gratefully gives. He tells her that everything will be fine, that he'll take care of her no matter what. Eleven knows she must accept this change, and she welcomes it, feeling full of power and full of strength in a way she hadn't before.

**Author's Note:**

> me, in ya brain: kudos/comment on this fic  
> you: but why  
> me, in ya brain: you gotta
> 
> ~Hunter


End file.
